How do you define your artistic style, how has it evolved ?
I love to create with acrylic paints, it's a great medium that I can mix with different solutions. I use pouring paint, inks, gold leaf, gesso to make my works interesting.
I consider my style to be a free style of creating what I feel at a given moment. I love creating abstractions but I will not separate myself from portraits and nature that surrounds me.
I am an expressionist with a surrealistic view of reality. I have always believed that art is the freedom to create at a given moment and I do not want to close myself in a category. I am a woman so I
am as changeable as the seasons.
Can you walk us through your creative process?
Yes, The creative process for me is being alone with myself, enjoying every moment. I love layers and reliefs in my works. Bases or textures need time to dry so that the creative process can continue. Sometimes I sketch something early to have an outline of an idea and sometimes I go with the flow and quickly have to transfer the idea from my head to canvas, wood or stone. I have to count myself as a fast creator. Although sometimes a painting takes a year to create, it is rare. I love drying my paintings to make the next stage faster, a layer of paint, etc. I finish most of my works within a few weeks and after some time I varnish and frame them. Being connected to the soul in the creative process is priceless to me. Just like teaching my students simple painting movements.What steps do you take from the initial concept to the final product?:
This, as I mentioned earlier, needs a good outline of my actions. Sometimes it is only in my head, sometimes drawn in pencil on a sheet of paper. I search for the right material on which it will be created. Most often it is canvas, sometimes a ready-made size and sometimes I cut the right size from a large roll. Such a canvas is then stretched onto a wooden frame. I secure it with gesso, sometimes several layers. Sometimes the next step is mixing gesso with a product to create 3D convexities of a given shape. This dries thoroughly. First bases of acrylic paint. Then, depending on what is to be created, it is pouring, ink, gold leaves, pieces of textiles glued on. delicate creation of details with selected brushes. This is a process that must wait and dry until the next stage. When I am sure that I have achieved the desired effect - I finish the painting, protect it with varnish and depending on whether I feel that this particular painting must be in a frame, I do so. Not all works look good in frames.Are there specific environments, moods, or moments that spark your creativity most?
It's nice to say that sometimes I create like crazy and literally everything inspires me. A walk in the park, feeding robins, a conversation with someone, a photo of a neighbour, my favourite places on the beach. And sometimes I have a typical artistic drought and I can't concentrate on the paint, I even feel traumatized. But fortunately it passes.
Oh how many times I said that this is my last painting and I will never create anything again. And then like crazy I flow and I can't stop, I even get up at night to finish something. I remember when I was sick and I could barely move, but in my head I wanted the face of a woman to be created in the painting.
Many artists have a particular theme or subject matter that they explore in their work. Is there a recurring theme in your art?:
Generally, you can see the works that were created from my hand. However, I have to admit that my variability is great. I create small thematic series, but they are really modest. I can close them in a maximum of five works. Well, that's how I am, I get bored quickly, I think it's called ADHD. I love to change my face or someone close to me and place it on abstract bases and I will probably experiment with this for a long time, of course at different intervals. But I find it funny - rejuvenating, aging, caricaturing my person.What artists, past or present, have inspired or influenced your work?:
Edvard Munch, Salvador Dalí, Jackson Pollock-even though I know he stole the creative idea from a woman, I don't remember her name. But once upon a time, women could only be an inspiration and men took all the credit. My wonderful artist friends who truly create with passion are a great inspiration and motivation for me.In the evolving world of art, how do you stay current with new techniques or mediums, and have you recently experimented with any?:
That's a very good question. I really like novelties and experiments. Working with children and adults, I always have the opportunity to hear something that I need to check. At this point, I won't cite specifics, but I really like testing different theories or novelties. However, it's not easy to keep up with the fashion and preferences of today's changing world. I try not to fall into the extremes of the topics that are hot at a given moment. Although sometimes if something really touches me personally, it is shown in one of my works. I definitely avoid artistic politics. People need joy and warmth, life is really difficult, even everyday life. That's why I like the joy of creating and real emotions.Can you describe a moment in your career that you felt was a significant breakthrough or turning point for you?
Yes, one of them was definitely 2018, I received Irish citizenship and recognition as an Irish visual artist working for the good of culture. In that year, despite my husband's serious illness, I managed to have several foreign shows, of course in Ireland as well. But I was proud that I was working in Europe in general.
Another breakthrough was 2020 when I opened my first individual gallery in the beautiful Discovery Park, surrounding myself with other creators and craftsmen. It really was a beautiful time and contact with people despite the world situation. At that time, you could feel the need for closeness, shared creative joy that you could take home.
Yes, it was the time of my blossoming and huge creative desire. Now I feel that I have given a lot of energy and work as a tutor and occasional shows are enough for me. Of course I am saying this today, tomorrow may be a different phase of action.
